Will I damage my car with 10-30 synthetic vs 05-40 dino

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 11, 2003
Messages
9
Location
Portland Oregon
My owners manual dictates that I use only 5w-40 (dino or synthetic) at all times. However, I have found an excellent buy on M1 10w-30 ($3.50/qt) that I would like to take advantage of. I live in Portland Oregon where the temperature rarely drops below 30 deg F even in the coldest months and rarely gets over 90 deg F in the hottest months. Will I have any problems?
 
I would advise against it. Mobil 1's 10w30 is a very thin 30wt, so you'd be going quite a bit off the recommended viscosity.

[ March 24, 2003, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: Patman ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by Audiojunkie:
My owners manual dictates that I use only 5w-40 (dino or synthetic) at all times. However, I have found an excellent buy on M1 10w-30 ($3.50/qt) that I would like to take advantage of. I live in Portland Oregon where the temperature rarely drops below 30 deg F even in the coldest months and rarely gets over 90 deg F in the hottest months. Will I have any problems?

...I would definitely NEVER go down in viscosity rating (from a 40 to a 30).

Who cares if it's a "good buy"! You spend XX,XXX on a car, then want to save a few bucks by running an oil that won't protect as well? Why not get a good 5w-40 synthetic "fleet" oil??

By the way, what car is it??
 
quote:

Originally posted by Audiojunkie:
The car is a 2003 VW Passat with the 1.8T. From the current group of responses, it seems that the 10w-30 would be a bad idea.

Definitely. You want an oil with a good HTHS number for that turbo engine, preferably over 3.6 or 3.7 HTHS. Mobil 1's 30wts aren't even close to that. Mobil 1 0w40 would be good though.
 
Hey there, I have a 1.8T in my 02 Jetta. My manual states a PREFERENCE for 5w40, but also states that 5w30 is an acceptable substitute. From analyses posted here, it does not appear that M1 5w30 is doing too badly in this engine.

That said, I have switched to 0w40. If I was worried about budget, I'd get the Shell Rotella T 5w40 synthetic from Walmart for $13 a gallon. And you thought $3.50 a quart was cheap.
 
keep in mind the 1.8T is available with different levels of tuning. Where his car may REQUIRE 5w40, yours may RECOMMEND it. I'd definitely stick with what's recommended, especially inside of the warranty. Stick with a good synthetic 5w40 or 0w40. They'll keep you in good shape and clear as far as the warranty go's.

--Matt
 
Thanks to all!!
Just as information: The new VW owners manual goes beyond recomending 5w-40, it say that it must be used and if not available 5w-30 may be used for topping off ONLY. I am assuming that the change of policy may be due to the additional 20hp (150 to 170) from 2000 to 2001.5 (and on) model years. At any rate, I think I'll stick with the 5w-40 and avoid another post titled: Engine replacement with voided warranty! Thanks again everyone!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Audiojunkie:
Thanks to all!!
Just as information: The new VW owners manual goes beyond recomending 5w-40, it say that it must be used and if not available 5w-30 may be used for topping off ONLY. I am assuming that the change of policy may be due to the additional 20hp (150 to 170) from 2000 to 2001.5 (and on) model years.


That's interesting. I have a 2001.5 A4 with the same engine, same output (170hp), and the manual still recommends 0w-30 oil, with 5w-30 being acceptable.

quote:

The very small sump (4.3 qts) was something that I found very odd especially for a turbo. Thanks for the advice.

Hehe... try 3.7 quarts in my 1.8T. How's that for small sump capacity?
frown.gif


BTW, I've switched to M1 0w-40 now, because the 0w-30 and 5w-30 M1 don't meet the ACEA A3/B3 specs now mandated by Audi/VW. That said, I've seen very good UOA results even with M1 5w-30 run for 10K miles in this particular engine. Search the UOA forum for details.
 
Pete, that is interesting
confused.gif
I would expect that the OM's would be relatively consistent across the product lines.

And wow
shocked.gif
shocked.gif
3.7
shocked.gif
shocked.gif
that's enough to give a guy sump envy
wink.gif


PS. Thanks for the tip on UOA search.
 
Could be VW is using owners as guinea pigs for field testing different weight grade ranges. If neither weight grade range results in significantly more mechanical troubles, perhaps in future years VW will follow the U.S. in lighter oils. (I'm sure we're all aware what our European counterparts pay for gas. They only wish they could get it for $2.00/gallon.) But, I agree that if your owner's manual calls for xW-40 under warranty, USE IT! Doing otherwise is lubrication Russian roulette. The situation for the Audi guys is defferent, 'cause that's what THEIR owner's manuals recommend and VW/Audi will cover their butts as part of the cost of any corporate field experimentation.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Ray H:
But, I agree that if your owner's manual calls for xW-40 under warranty, USE IT! Doing otherwise is lubrication Russian roulette. The situation for the Audi guys is defferent, 'cause that's what THEIR owner's manuals recommend and VW/Audi will cover their butts as part of the cost of any corporate field experimentation.

Get this: even though my manual calls for 0w-30, if I go to my local Audi dealer for the free maintenance/oil change during the warranty period, they will pour in 15w-40 oil because that is all they carry and they put this oil in all Audi cars they service, regardless of engine type and year.
rolleyes.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top